Fish API Test Kit Ammonia Question

[Rollxr]

Hi Had a question, whenever i use the api freshwater test kit and i test for ammonia, my test vial has a light green color and the test reading always shows .25 ammonia with a light green colour! what is exactly the problem? It always shows .25 ammonia! Also for a while i have noticed this is that i have zero nitrates and no nitrites, its been like this for a while, a good amount of months

 

[Naughts73 145]

If the water supply is treated with chloramine it can show tank results for ammonia. The chloramine is made up of chlorine, which is treated by the dechlorinator, and ammonia, which is left behind.
Sometimes cycling can take a long time and ammonia will linger until the tank is established.

 

[Rollxr]

If the water supply is treated with chloramine it can show tank results for ammonia. The chloramine is made up of chlorine, which is treated by the dechlorinator, and ammonia, which is left behind.
Sometimes cycling can take a long time and ammonia will linger until the tank is established.

The water source is treated with Prime water conditioner and this tank has been set up since October 2022…. I have also tested my tap waters and i am seeing the .25 ammonia, what to do?

 

[Essjay74 189]

Chloramine registers on the ammonia tester which could account for the small amount in tap water. If you use a dechlorinator, that will split chloramine into chlorine and ammonia and the bacteria and/or plants in the tank should remove the ammonia half quickly.


When you read the test, what is the lighting - daylight or room light? If it's room light, what kind of light bulb? It is a known fact that fluorescent lights (strip or compact fluorescent bulb) can make the water in the tube look greener than it really is.

 

[Byron]

Just to add to @Essjay post...Prime detoxifies ammonia by changing it to ammonium, but it still shows in ammonia tests. And it is temporary, about 36 hours according to Seachem, after which it will, in basic water, revert to ammonia again.

 

[Ram419]

Hi Had a question, whenever i use the api freshwater test kit and i test for ammonia, my test vial has a light green color and the test reading always shows .25 ammonia with a light green colour! what is exactly the problem? It always shows .25 ammonia! Also for a while i have noticed this is that i have zero nitrates and no nitrites, its been like this for a while, a good amount of months

Perhaps I'm reading too much into this, but are you saying that the test vial has a light green color when it is completely dry? As in, there's no water or API testing solution in it? It just has become discolored after long use? If that is the case, I'd get rid of the vial.

You say the test always shows a light green color. This is occurring before you do a water change, or after? I can understand if the source water for water changes have ammonia in it as I have the same issue. But if you are saying there's ammonia in your aqaurium water after it's been in there for a while, but no nitrites or nitrates that is kind of strange.

I've been using API Ammo Lock to treat my source tap water since I discovered it had ammonia in it and the ammonia always goes down to zero after treating. There has been no issue with any plants or fish and I think it is better for the fish in the end. You can use Ammo Lock as your water conditioner since it treats for chlorine and chloramine same as any regular conditioner.

 

[Rollxr]

The water source is treated with Prime water conditioner and this tank has been set up since October 2022…. I have also tested my tap waters and i am seeing the .25 or less ammonia.

Chloramine registers on the ammonia tester which could account for the small amount in tap water. If you use a dechlorinator, that will split chloramine into chlorine and ammonia and the bacteria and/or plants in the tank should remove the ammonia half quickly.


When you read the test, what is the lighting - daylight or room light? If it's room light, what kind of light bulb? It is a known fact that fluorescent lights (strip or compact fluorescent bulb) can make the water in the tube look greener than it really is.

It is normal light every light i use it shows light green and also fyi, i am using seachem prime as a decholrinator it removes chroline, chloramine and

Perhaps I'm reading too much into this, but are you saying that the test vial has a light green color when it is completely dry? As in, there's no water or API testing solution in it? It just has become discolored after long use? If that is the case, I'd get rid of the vial.

You say the test always shows a light green color. This is occurring before you do a water change, or after? I can understand if the source water for water changes have ammonia in it as I have the same issue. But if you are saying there's ammonia in your aqaurium water after it's been in there for a while, but no nitrites or nitrates that is kind of strange.

I've been using API Ammo Lock to treat my source tap water since I discovered it had ammonia in it and the ammonia always goes down to zero after treating. There has been no issue with any plants or fish and I think it is better for the fish in the end. You can use Ammo Lock as your water conditioner since it treats for chlorine and chloramine same as any regular conditioner.

Sorry for not replying. I see what the problem was, i see the test vial in natural light and it indeed does come out as yellow. The lighting had made a difference.

 

[AJ356]

On top of everything else you have discussed. I have had my share of false positive readings with API liquid ammonia tests giving occasional 0.25ppm readings. Even in flourishing, and heavily planted tanks. That might not be what's happened with you, but worth keeping in mind.

 

[TwoTankAmin63]

The odds are that it is not a true ammonia reading. There are things that can be in one's water than can can throw off test results. One would be iron. But, it is virtually impossible to have a .225 ppm reading for ammonia all of the time. In fact I would be willing to offer you $1,000 of you can make that happen intentionally, that is how hard it is to have it happen.

The bacteria that oxidize ammonia re[produce when there is more ammonia available than they need to thrive. When this happens they divide. So, if your reading was real, one of thwi things has to follow. if you have no bacteria at all, then the ammonia will accumulate and rise to higher numbers. If you do have bacteria present, they will reproduce and that ,25 ppm will easily be handled in a short time and the reading would go to 0.

Finally, the reason that using prime and other dechlors that contain an ammonia detoxifier basically turn ammonia into ammonium, This is way way less toxic than ammonia. However, most of the hobby test kits measure Total ammonia, This is the sum of both ammonia and ammonium. So we do not need to worry about the total ammonia level itself, we need to know how mch of that number is actually in the form of the very toxic ammonia.

There is a somewhat complicated mathematical formula for calculating this. it involves knowing the Total Ammonia reading and then the the pH and temperature of the water. Fortunately, this is the digital age and there are online calculators we can use to do the calculations.

Once you know all three numbers (total ammonia, pH and temperature) there is a formula for calculating how much of the total ammonia is in the form of NH3. It is way more complicated to use than most of us can handle. Fortunately, there are charts and tables available for this calculation. There is also currently a handy dandy ammonia calculator you can find here: http://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/FreeAmmonia.php

1. Choose NH (NH3 + NH4)*
2. Enter in the total ammonia reading from your test, choose ppm.
3. For a fresh water tank, enter 0 for the salinity.
4. Enter your tank’s current pH.
5. Enter your tank temperature and choose F or C, whichever applies.
6. Click Calculate.

The number you want to know is the one for NH3.

As long as the number for NH3 is 0.05 ppm or lower, then it will not be harming anything we normally keep in out tanks. You can have a 2 ppm reading for total ammonia and if the NH3 is .05 or less, you can have your fish in this for a bit of time. Usually, the amount of time it takes for the bacteria to reproduce and solve the problem is a short term proposition and noy common in tanks with fish unless one is doing a fish in cycle, something I never suggest one do.

 

[Tank1]

Hi Had a question, whenever i use the api freshwater test kit and i test for ammonia, my test vial has a light green color and the test reading always shows .25 ammonia with a light green colour! what is exactly the problem? It always shows .25 ammonia! Also for a while i have noticed this is that i have zero nitrates and no nitrites, its been like this for a while, a good amount of months

I would have your water tested elsewhere by a trusted source. I have seen a color reading variations in test kits many times over the years. See how your reading compares to the reading of another test source.